Seems that this time of year most people have plenty in common with the UN and Congress what with all the non-binding resolutions being passed. Since I’m not one to be left out I’ve decided to make some tentative and malleable goals for myself this year.

Learn more about photography.
It has taken me about six months and some 8,000 pictures to finally get a decent idea about the relationship between aperture and shutter speed. Hopefully, in the next six I can greatly improve my technical skills with the camera and start producing pictures of at least average to middling quality.

Broaden my musical horizons.
Not that I have been one to stick to a narrow list of genres or a limited stable of artists but I have this nagging feeling that more music is out there which I really need to hear. In the last couple of months I have been making a concerted effort to widen the scope of my purchases, spending less time the comfortable habits of rock or electronic and instead trying to discover Modern Classical, deeper Jazz cuts, Folk, and the wealth of music that Africa offers. This year I would like to continue spreading my purchases every month across as many new artists and genres as possible.

Read more books.
Before the baby I managed to knock back some two books a month, not as fast as I know I am capable but quick enough that I don’t feel like I am only accomplishing a page a week. Now Reading is telling me I managed a book a month last year, decent but I have some 76 books still to go and at this rate Gabi will be in a nursing home by the time I finish. This year I would like to close the laptop and get in a good hour of reading before bed each and every night.

Spend more time just being.
Having a baby is much like a personal black hole whose gravity is so great that time bends and accelerates as it is pulled to the center. Add a job which I love so much that I find myself letting it wash over me to fill the spare moments of my day leaving nothing left over. This year I want to regiment my days better, which gets back to those top three goals, in that I leave time for myself to recharge so that I don’t feel like so much Vampire chow.

Manage our money more wisely.
We were foolish early in our marriage, running up unsecured debt, saving nothing, and spending everything. It took us several hard and lean years to dig ourselves out of that hole but we have and these days we live strictly on cash, the only debt we carry is the house, the car, and my student loans and each month we move to the next remaining in the black/ What of savings though? Retirement? College? Those are still gaps. This year I want to get even better with watching our spending habits, correcting them when necessary, and planning for 1-5-15-20 year goals. It certainly helps that I work for a company building the tools that I need but they can only carry me so far, the rest is up to me.